• 15 minute posts,  Alpha+Mom post,  artsy fartsy,  Bug,  Tis the Season

    Emoji Outtakes

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    Would you believe me if I said I haven’t blogged in a while because I’m waiting for Bug to finish her latest fashion post and she’s taking FOREVER? It is true but it’s not a very good excuse and who cares about excuses anyway. Everybody who likes to write should just sit down at their laptop and write everyday no matter who they are writing to or what they are writing. It’s fun. We write because we like to write, right? I sound like Bug’s favorite joke, Right is right, right? Cue eye-rolling.

    Anyway, I was going over the outtakes for this post I wrote on Alphamom on Monday and there were so many funny photos of Bug I had to share them. Also I’m trying to go outside my comfort zone everyday per Lisa Congdon and this is the equivalent of me sticking my tiny toe off the edge of the grand canyon or texting while sitting in the bathtub. Funny, I do the latter a lot more then the former. And I’m not even a bath person!

    Actually, I need to blog about our dog, Holly. She died. We are very sad. So that’s my next challenge and it’s way out of my comfort zone. I’ve been putting it off because the last time I wrote about a pet being put down, it was a very bad experience involving some internet trollery. People have very strong feelings about pets and I get that. We have strong feelings about Holly so I need to write about that one of these days. But maybe not today. I need to get a ziplock for my phone before I hover it over the hot bubbly water.

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    So yeah, Bug’s working on a fashion post for you. It’s been in the making for many days. You know, in between homework, soccer practice, working on sharpie-masterpieces and various other art projects.

    I could seriously write a whole post about Sharpies and my daughter. I had to put her on Sharpie probation for two days (I know! Only two days but believe me, it was a veeeeeery long time to her.) because I found Sharpie marks on the floor, on my jute rug, on the mirror, on the ipad…All very cute drawings and marks but STILL!!! Girl! Get some respect for my house and my things!!

    Maybe letting her draw on her shoes, soccer balls and pool toys was giving her a little too much freedom. She’s thinking the world is her canvas these days. Thankfully, two days off Sharpies was very sever punishment for her and I’m happy to say I think she’s learned her lesson.

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    Isn’t the little ghostie cute? This craft was actually Isabel’s idea. (Best boss ever.) I didn’t think much of it but now that I have all these emoticon pumpkins emoting all over my house I’m kinda digging them. They are very useful. Sometimes instead of saying something I just hold up a pumpkin. I’m sure you can guess which one I hold up a lot.

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    I’ll just throw these photos in because they are cute. That concentrating fish face!

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    I love my pumpkin.

  • elsewhere!,  mettaprints,  Shop Talk,  Tis the Season

    Cardboard Christmas!

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    I know what you are thinking. Why are you putting up Christmas photos when it’s not even Halloween yet, you annoying goober! Just get out of my face already and let me enjoy my pumpkin spice latte now that it’s not 300 degrees of summer anymore!!  Right?!! Sheesh.

    Well, when you work in the business of creating Christmas decorations (and other holiday things) you have to get started early. In fact, at Metta Prints (my little cardboard company that I’m a partner in) we talk about Christmas all year long! Teri, my boss, (she doesn’t like being called my boss but I need her to boss me so that’s that) LOVES Christmas. She could decorate swags of garland all year long and never get tired of it. Me, on the other hand, I can’t wait until the clean sweep of January.

    Anyway, we’ve been making trees and snowflakes and deer and all kinds of cute little woodland creatures for stores lately. It’s fun! Yesterday, we scaled down our humongous trees to pint-size trees but still biggish. Perfect for your spatially-challenged home or apartment. Of if you are an elf.

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    And of course I had to take pictures with my favorite side-kick, aka the evil smurf elf.  What am I going to do when she grows up and doesn’t want to model for me anymore? She’s such a natural in front of the camera but then…it’s kind of in her blood with her parents both being photographers and I’ve been training her how to act in front of the camera since she was ZERO.

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    She keeps it real though. It’s not all smiles and cooperation.

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    Have tree, will travel? Hah! Just kidding. You don’t need to travel with your cardboard, Metta Prints ships everywhere! We’ve shipped to Spain, Australia, Canada, Trinidad, Ireland…the UK…It’s pretty cool. We pack everything up in pizza-like box (except much bigger and sometimes more rectangle) and off it goes. I’m currently working on some cool stickers and other branded packaging. I’m sure I’ll share that once I get it all out of my head and onto paper. My head is so much more busy than my hands.

    In other news, guess where Metta Prints has a full page feature? Woo hoo!

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    It’s our deer!  Of course the magazine is showing how you can make them yourself at home with giant pieces of cardboard but I say skip all that headache and let our giant machines do it for you! We have super fast razor cutters that get it done fast and perfectly. (Man, I was skinny in the movie, what happened?!!)

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    Yep, you guessed it. Better Homes and Gardens special Holiday Crafts edition. I’m still aiming for Dwell magazine and maybe some designery magazines but this ain’t too shabby. I know if my Grandma were alive, she’d be proud. She was always cutting out craft articles just like this for me. Makes me miss her.

    So, check us out next time you’re standing around in line at the grocery store. Page 56!  And tell all your friends, especially those shop-owners and photographers who need some last minute props for their displays and photo shoots! You know we’ll take care of you like only cardboard whisperers can.